


It'll Mend Up Fine

by scatter



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Community: kink_bingo, Friendship, Holding Hands, M/M, Subtext, Vanilla, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-20
Updated: 2011-07-20
Packaged: 2017-10-21 14:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/226296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatter/pseuds/scatter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Yosuke thinks about what could have happened, being seen holding hands doesn't seem like such a big deal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It'll Mend Up Fine

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Kink Bingo square: vanilla kink.

Souji's attention was on his left hand resting on the food court table, his fingers rubbing against each other absently. So was Yosuke's, and it'd been there since they'd left the TV.

"Hey," he said, because he knew he wasn't going to be able to stop thinking about it, "let me see your hand."

"Hmm?" Souji raised his eyes and stilled his fingers. "Why?"

"Because I want to make sure you're okay." Everything looked like it was working, yeah, and he was pretty sure Souji would have spoken up before if something felt wrong, but Yosuke still had the image of his hand red and blistering fresh in his mind. Seeing it lying there wasn't enough; his own hands itched with the urge to reach out and reassure himself.

"Everything's fine now." Souji spread his fingers, the skin pale and whole, each finger separate and distinct. There was no sign that any of them had ever been fused together in an ugly lump, no obvious hint that anything had happened except a singe on his sleeve that he'd have to hide from Dojima-san until he could get it fixed.

"Just let me check, okay?" Yosuke took hold of his wrist, and Souji let him pull it forward without resisting.

Souji's hand looked exactly the same as far as Yosuke could tell, and he'd paid enough attention to them that he figured he was a pretty good judge. Too smooth, maybe, and a little shiny, but that might have the sun reflecting or sweat or his eyes playing tricks on him. Nothing was sloshing off or peeling back, and that was the important part. He could almost think that he'd imagined the whole thing. "What's it feel like?"

"When you touch it like that, it tickles."

"Sorry." He pressed down more firmly and traced the folds of Souji's palm, acutely aware of the texture and the warmth of his skin. As far as he could tell all of the lines were there, the life line and money line and whatever else the others were called, looking like they'd never left. No puss, no blood, and when he looked up there was no sign of wordless shock on Souji's face, nothing like the split second when he realized his dodge had gone wrong but he hadn't figured out what part of him had been caught in the Shadow's attack. Still, he had to ask. "Everything's working right, nothing feels off?"

"It's still a little sensitive," Souji said, eyes on their hands. "Kind of like I'm feeling things for the first time. It's weird, but it's going away."

"Guess that's what happens when you've got to grow skin back." He set Souji's hand down but didn't let it go completely, covering it with his own loosely. "Good thing Yukiko was around, huh? It would have been hard to explain that to your uncle."

"Yeah," Souji said, "but everything's fine now. That's what's important."

"I guess." His hand was damp and they were in the middle of Junes where someone might see and think they were--think whatever the hell they wanted, start a rumor at school about them, but he didn't feel like moving it. He felt Souji's pulse under his skin, and clutched tighter. "This whole thing is pretty serious, isn't it?"

"Yosuke..." Souji sounded understanding, and it would have embarrassed Yosuke normally, to realize he was being so obvious and Souji could read him so easily, but now it was just comforting. "It was an accident, they happen. I'm alright."

"I know." It wasn't like he'd never seen Souji get hurt before, and odds were he'd have to see it again, but there were a couple of things Yosuke'd never be able to get used to and that was one of them. After all, it didn't take much to think about what else would happen if Yukiko didn't have enough strength to heal them or another part of Souji, the wrong part, caught the brunt of an attack. He remembered the smell of Souji's skin burning, thought he could catch of whiff of it lingering when the wind changed. "This is pretty tiring, isn't it?"

That made him sound like such a complainer; he'd gotten off easy today, hadn't taken any serious hits, but Souji only said, "It'll get easier."

"Maybe." He shook himself and forced some levity into his voice. "Sorry, partner, I don't know what's up with me. Thinking too much."

"Try not to worry about it. It's hard sometimes but..."

"Yeah," Yosuke said. "One bad day doesn't mean anything; we've got this under control. Kanji's lucky to have guys like us coming in after him. Just don't let that happen again, okay?"

"I'll be careful."

He was still holding Souji's hand, and wondered if he should let go. If Souji said something about it, he decided.

He didn't.


End file.
